Author Archives: theshrubqueen

In A Vase on Monday -Summer Bouquet

20170604_090041

I was missing last week due to attending a family wedding in Atlanta. As unusual as it seems, I found no vases along the way, although late spring was in full swing and all the gardens and especially the wedding arrangements were glorious. And pure white.

20170604_102511

I arrived home to find Memorial Day truly marking the onset of summer. As if on cue,  precipitation started and the weeds burst forth with a joyous and bountiful overtaking of the garden. I am still feeling surly about this and have bought a vast quantity of landscape fabric and cardboard to choke them out. Fifty square feet at a time. Fingers crossed for a victorious outcome. I have, thus far, never defeated the weeds in summer.

I was pleased to see my native plants and the tropicals flowering prodigiously with the onset of wet weather. For whatever deeply buried design reason I am shy about combining these plants – this week I have thrown caution to the wind and come up with the madly mixed Summer Bouquet.

20170604_102612

An old friend of mine, from design school and embarrassed to be ‘a posy poker’ (in reality a very talented designer of floral arrangements and gardens) would have called this a plop arrangement.

Go into the garden, cut whatever strikes your fancy to a similar length and plop into a vase. Simple. My plop this week is in a smoky grey glass vase from the discount store. The members of the cast include in white, Sweet Begonias (Begonia odorata), the daisy shapes are Gallardias (Gallardia pulchella), native to Florida; deeper red and white flowers are Red Shrimp Plants (Justicia brandegeana), The orange trumpets are from my native Firebush (Hamelia patens var patens), red and yellow flowers are tropical Parrotflowers (Heliconia psittacorum); the blue flowers are Porterweed, another native. In green, Asian Sword Ferns, true native plant enthusiasts think this fern is evil. The good side reappears with the red spikes from the native Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea)

I may eventually recover from my mixing natives with tropicals neurosis as I kind of like this plop. Here is my latest unusual creature discovery. It is a Black Swallowtail Butterfly caterpillar eating the end of my Parsley. I hope to see the Butterfly.

20170604_102656-1

In A Vase on Monday – Finally

20170518_115946

I have succeeded in coaxing a Lobsterclaw Heliconia to flower. Finally. It has taken four years and two different types. This particular one is Helconia rostrata, native to South America. I found two years ago at a Master Gardeners plant sale and snapped up. It was doing fine until Hurricane Matthew blew by last year and bent it into 2 plants on an angle. Then I forgot about it for a while and let the dried up leaves hang on the plant instead of trimming them off. Viola, the secret, don’t trim the dead leaves. I read somewhere the flowers are easily cut off during trimming and now I believe it. The other one, a Heliconia ‘Splash’ four years old steadfastly refuses to flower, but it was always trimmed. Now it looks awful and I am hoping for some flowers! The Splash flowers are twice as big as these, apricot with wine colored splashes.

20170518_115953

A closer view. The Heliconia is accompanied by a flowering branch of a Sea Grape (Coccoloba uvifera). The Sea Grape flowers eventually form a long chain of blueberry sized ‘grapes’. One of my greyhounds likes to eat them, but I don’t.

 

The Heliconia bud.20170502_153541-1

Happy Monday

In A Vase on Monday – Mother’s Day Melange

20170514_143057-1

Putting together a Vase for Monday usually makes me think of my mother. I am sure she was the genesis of my interest in gardening. This is her crystal Rose Bowl filled with a mixture from my garden. The wood thing in the background is a cake form I picked up in Japan some years ago, used for making Mung Bean Cakes, I think. I like the cake pan, but can easily forego the cake. My friend who lived in Japan called them Modeling Clay Cakes.

20170514_142505

The Rose Bowl is packed with flowers. The orange tubular flowers are from the Firebush (Hamelia patens var paten), I have used orange Ground Orchids (Epidendrum), white Tropical Gardenias (Tabernaemontana divaricata), Sweet Begonias (Begonia odorata), a few Parrotflower Heliconia (Heliconia psittacorus), Red Shrimp Plant (Justicia brandegeana), the seed stalk is from a Dracaena reflexa, and a bit of Asian Sword Fern.

20170514_142649

Here’s the latest thing of interest from my garden:

 

20170514_143555-1

The Nam Doc Mai Mango tree is fruiting! Hoping for some Mango Melange soon.

In A Vase on Monday – Delicate Tropicals

20170507_130206-1

Sunday morning found me installing a crushed shell walkway in my Wildflower/ Salsa Garden. Shoveling shell and wheelbarrowing it around was taking its toll, so I sat in the shade of an old Rosewood tree in our backyard to drink some water and cool off. Finding a seat on the garden furniture strewn about waiting for the garden to be finished, I nearly turned myself and the chair over on the not quite even ground. When finally situated  I ended up face to face with the flowers of the Rosewood tree, lovely, delicate and creamy white.

20170507_130218

These are that kind of Rosewood (Dahlbergia sissoo) used to make fine furniture. They also make fine street and shade trees in many tropical places. Just not Florida. In Florida they are considered invasive because they do too well and take over. The Rosewood came with the house, part of it has been removed once or twice and the other part is not on my property so I am stuck with it for the time being. I had never noticed the delicate flowers before and decided to try to find some similar flowers to incorporate into a vase.

20170507_130228

The orange flowers are from a Ground Orchid my neighbor gave me. This is some variety of Epidendrum, a member of the not sure which group of plants. This little orchid has amazed me, for some reason an Armadillo has a death wish for it and has dug it up countless times, I keep replanting it and it is bravely sending up flowers. As I was installing irrigation and using pins to hold the tubing down,  it occurred to me I should pin the Orchid down. Next on my list!

The vase is a thrift store find and the last bit of foliage is from Asparagus Ferns.

The bird visitors this week were some slightly blurry Ibises. They seem to be eating grubs from the lawns. I frequently see Ibis walking along the tops of hedges eating insects.

20170504_182611

20170504_182641-120170504_182713_HDR-1

Happy Monday!

In A Vase on Monday – Joining the Revolution

20170430_133841

Given the recent marches in protest of, at this point, seemingly nearly everything related to science, nature and politics, I was surprised to find there’s yet another Revolution brewing. Involving flower arrangements!

20170430_163920-1

My favorite neighbor saved an article for me from the New York Times Style section regarding the revolution in flower arranging being brought about by the Milennials. Seems people are going back to flowers from their gardens and seasonal foraging to fill their vases. Pesticide ridden roses from South America are being eschewed for, in my opinion, more beautiful flowers. If this is a Revolution I am all for it! Here is a link to the article Floral Revolution Link.

20170430_133943

I am certain this is not a revolutionary arrangement from my garden, it is however a new combination.  Ascending, and in red, are Turks Cap Hibiscus ( Malvaviscus pendulifloris); in white and slightly bigger are Tropical Gardenias (Tabernaemontana divaricata), the smaller white flowers with seed heads are Sweet Begonias (Begonia odorata). The bigger orange flower is Mexican Bush Honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera), the other orange flowers are from our native Firebush (Hamelia patens var patens). I  thought the star of the revolution would be the Gardenias but I think the Turks Cap Hibiscus gets my vote. I fertilized a nearby palm with some divine organic palm fertilizer and that Turks Cap has never been happier. The vase is a thrift store find. Celadon green and I am certain hand thrown – clunky in the most marvelous way things crafted by hand can be.

The new animal friends (I hope) in my garden this week are:

Firebush and Friend

The lizard is a Northern Curly Tail Lizard, about 8 inches long and bearing a striking resemble to an Iguana. Having never seen one in my garden before, I read up on them and there’s a good reason – it is a relative of the Iguana, fortunately smaller. The Northern refers to the northern Bahamas!

The Zebra Longwing butterflies have come back out with the flowering of the Firebush. These are a favorite of mine and the state butterfly of Florida.

Vasers, Happy Monday and please carry on with the Revolution.

In A Vase on Monday – Totally Tropical

20170423_155023

This vase is about as tropical as it gets. It holds the first Frangipani flowers of the year and the last two Shell Ginger blossoms (I think). I have another Shell Ginger that has always received less water and attention and it is flowering with much smaller, infrequent bursts. The fragrance of the arrangement is pure Polynesia, sweet Frangipani foiled by lightly spicy ginger. I should start making shampoo or suntan lotion from this combination. I have a small foyer and it is filled with the scent. We have finally gotten some rain here in the form of a 4 inches plus deluge over about 15 hours. The flowers are a great counter to Eau d’ Wet Greyhound.

The flowers in the vase are in pink, Shell Ginger (Alpinia zerumbet), in white, Frangipani (Plumeria ?) I was in Maui last fall and this is different from the White Plumeria there, the flowers are actually bigger and less waxy. I found there are many varieties of Frangipani but am not sure what this is – another garage sale find (as are the Shell Ginger) The orange flowers are Mexican Bush Honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera) I actually bought at a nursery and have never seen another. The foliage is cut from the Shell Ginger and some long fronds of Asian Sword Fern.

The latest visitors adding a tropical vibe to my garden.

A White Heron on my shell driveway and a Gopher Tortoise stopping by to eat the fruit of the Surinam Cherries.

Happy Monday!

Garden Bloggers Foliage Day -Bromeliads

I fell in love with Bromeliads years ago when I lived much further north. As a part of my Landscape Architecture practice, I produced Interiorscape Designs for Regional Shopping Malls. Everyone liked to use Guzmania Bromeliads in the Mall plantings because the flowers lasted for 3 months. I became intrigued by these plants at the time, but it was hopeless for me to grow them as houseplants. Little did I know 30 years later I would have a mad Rainforest Garden full of all kinds of Bromeliads.

When shopping for Bromeliads, the first thing that you find is the named varieties are outrageously expensive. Given my complete lack of knowledge about growing Bromeliads outside I wasn’t about to spend $50 on a plant that I might kill in short order. Then, I found an unusual local custom – at South Florida garage sales, people commonly sell passalong Bromeliads, the problem is, for the most part no one has a clue what the plant is. So, I am learning the hard way. Even without knowing the Bromeliads name, the foliage is always really interesting, as are the people you meet along the way.

I have a number of Blushing Bromeliads in my garden. These can be Aechmea or Neoregelia types and I don’t really know which is who. However, in the spring they blush by turning red in the center and start to produce pups. I would hazard a guess this is because the rainy season will begin shortly and the smaller plants survival rate goes up with ample water. The rest of the year the foliage is nearly all green.20170421_130341-120170421_12594220170421_125909

Below is a pup on a Blanchetiana Bromeliad. I think this is a Lemon. They are available in Lemon, Raspberry and Orange. After flowering the mother plant begins to die and produces pups. Some do this without flowering. I will cut the pup off with a bit of root and replant it. The Blanchetiana is an Aechmea type that is fairly common in South Florida, they are usually about 4 feet tall and will spread much further than 4 feet. The Bromeliads at the top of the post are Blanchetianas.

20170421_153245

Stripes and spots:

Most of these are Neoregelia, some type of Fireball variety. The spotted ones hold their color for most of the year. The striped ones turn red in the winter. The darker purple ones are Hallelujah Billbergia with white spots and Luca with green spots. Hallelujah has probably the strangest flower of all – red, white and blue; it is a bit much with the foliage.

 

Neoregelia ‘Luca”

This last one is one of my favorites. Locally called Painted Fingernail, I think it is an Aechmea variety, literally tough as nails. It is growing in the full sun Hellstrip in my front yard, no irrigation. The foliage is olive in full sun, but the green deepens and the fingernail is darker fuchsia in the shade. And it thrives in both places, there are always good reasons for a passalong.

 

In A Vase on Monday – Pastels for Easter

20170416_125514-1

My vases were assembled on Easter Sunday.  Easter makes me think of little girls in pastel Easter dresses, eggs, bunnies and chocolate. The Easter Bunny seemed to be bringing my garden hot tropical colored flowers so off I went searching for some pastel tones. Surprisingly,  I found some pastel flowers in the garden and put them together in a vase.

20170416_125824

My pastel green Depression glass cream pitcher has been repurposed for rooting some Alabama Sunset Coleus, still hanging over the side in pink and chartreuse. To the Coleus I added some Blue Plumbago (Plumbago auriculata), a Pink Rainlily (Zephyanthes passalong) – not a clue why the Rainlily is in flower. There is simply no rain. Then I found a tiny Shell Ginger (Alpinia zerumbet) and finally some Asian Sword Fern.

The Easter Bunny is a cast iron rabbit that has been sitting on my hearth for many years. One of those must have items I ran across wandering through an antiques shop and snapped up.

20170416_131747

Here are the hot tropical colors the Easter Bunny brought to my garden.

20170416_131811

The red glass vase is from my favorite thrift store. My grandmother collected cranberry glass and this probably came from somebody else’s grandma. In the vase are the first Firebush (Hamelia patens var patens) flowers of the season, announcing hot weather is rapidly approaching. The red and yellow flowers are Parrotflowers (Heliconia psittacorum) and the foliage is from a Cabbage Palm seedling that came up way too close to my house. The evergreens are clippings from a Podocarpus “Maki” that someone sold me by accident, Maki grows about 15 feet high and I wanted a the Pringles Dwarf.

Another piece of the puzzle to fit into my garden.

Happy Monday!

In A Vase on Monday – A Rose by Any Other Name

20170409_154836-1

The only roses that could possibly smell as sweet around my garden are on the Portmerion china. I am way too far south to grow real roses. The roses in my vase came from the Desert Rose. The Desert Rose (Adenium obesum) is a relatively common container plant in my neighborhood. Considered a succulent but enjoying regular water and frying sun this is a perfect plant for South Florida. I throw out my cat’s water bowl on the rose every morning and it has rewarded me with abundant flowers.

20170409_154904-1

The vase is a crystal rose bowl from my mother’s vast collection. I had picked some other flowers to join the arrangement, but decided these were so pretty on their own they just needed a little fine textured foliage accent. The foliage in the vase is some maturing seed heads from my Dill Plant and Asparagus Fern.

Ironically the only thing in this arrangement that smells at all is the Dill seed.

A Message from the Universe

20170406_065856-2

This is the White Geiger tree behind my house shortly after sunrise this morning. The soft light gives an impressionist effect to the photo. The tree is crooked as a result of Hurricane Matthew. I am hoping it grows out of it. As I was watching over my dogs I thought the flowers were spelling something.

IS? Is what. It is what it is, a White Geiger. Here is a close up of the flower.

20170406_082816-1